Things to do in Başakşehir: parks, ponds, historic sites and stadiums

Things to do in Başakşehir include nation's gardens, ponds, a nature park, two large stadiums and historic sites. Başakşehir Municipality has eight nation's gardens. Sular Vadisi covers 550,000 square meters, Başakşehir Millet Bahçesi 281,242 and Bahçeşehir Gölet 270,043.86. Şamlar Nature Park is on the road that runs from Kayabaşı through Şamlar to Arnavutköy. The top historic sites are the Azatlı gunpowder works, founded by Sultan Selim III, and Yarımburgaz Cave, where remains from the Paleolithic period have been found. Atatürk Olympic Stadium holds 77,563 people and Fatih Terim Stadium 17,067. For a meal after sightseeing, Lezzet-i Şark Gusto serves Gaziantep cuisine beneath Fatih Terim Stadium, at Block C No: 5.

What are the things to do in Başakşehir?

Things to do in Başakşehir fall into three groups: green spaces such as the nation's gardens and the nature park, historic sites, and two stadiums. All of them are within the district's borders. The main places, their locations and key facts are below.

Place	Type	Location	Key fact
Başakşehir Millet Bahçesi	Nation's garden	Kayabaşı neighborhood	281,242 square meters, biological pond of 12,163 square meters
Bahçeşehir Gölet	Nation's garden	Bahçeşehir	270,043.86 square meters, 1,950 meters of bike path
Sular Vadisi	Nation's garden	Başakşehir	550,000 square meters, 9,838 trees
Çam ve Sakura Millet Bahçesi	Nation's garden	Başakşehir neighborhood	80,000 square meters, 18 play structures
Şamlar Nature Park	Nature park, picnic area	Kayabaşı-Şamlar-Arnavutköy road	Stone pines, 6 entrance gates
Azatlı gunpowder works	Historic building, ruins	Şahintepe neighborhood	Founded in 1794-1796, destroyed in 1877-1878
Şamlar Dam	Historic structure	North of Şamlar village	Stone dam built by Mahmud II, about 150 meters long
Yarımburgaz Cave	Cave, archaeological and natural protected site	1 kilometer north of Altınşehir	Remains from the Paleolithic period
Atatürk Olympic Stadium	Stadium	İkitelli, Olympic Park	77,563 people (TFF), built 1999-2002
Fatih Terim Stadium	Stadium	Başak neighborhood	17,067 people (TFF)

At the top of the things to do in Bahçeşehir is Bahçeşehir Gölet in the center of the neighborhood. Kayaşehir Millet Bahçesi, meanwhile, opened on the same day as Başakşehir Millet Bahçesi, November 17, 2018. Kayaşehir also has the municipality's Culture, Life and Sports Park.

Which parks and ponds are in Başakşehir?

The parks and ponds of Başakşehir include Başakşehir Millet Bahçesi, Bahçeşehir Gölet, Sular Vadisi, Çam ve Sakura Millet Bahçesi and Şamlar Nature Park. The rest of the municipality's eight nation's gardens are the Ayazma, Kayapark, Altınşehir and Güvercintepe nation's gardens.

Başakşehir Millet Bahçesi in the Kayabaşı neighborhood covers 281,242 square meters and has a biological pond of 12,163 square meters. The park has 4,520 meters of walking path, 1,692 meters of bike path and an adventure park. It opens every day at 06:00 and closes at 00:00, and with its 517 lamp posts, Başakşehir Millet Bahçesi also suits an evening walk.

What is at Bahçeşehir Pond?

Bahçeşehir Pond has walking and bike paths, 8 play structures, a traffic education track, sports areas and a stage. The park in the center of Bahçeşehir covers 270,043.86 square meters. It has two walking paths of 4,200 and 2,500 meters and 1,950 meters of bike path. With free entry, Bahçeşehir Gölet Park also has 6 toilets and 2 small mosques.

What is at Başakşehir Sular Vadisi?

Sular Vadisi has 9,838 trees, 4,500 meters of walking path, 5,000 meters of bike path and 7 themed play structures. The valley covers an area of 550,000 square meters, of which 314,665.57 square meters are green space. The play structures include playgrounds with ship, airplane and animal figures. For sports there are 5 basketball courts, a volleyball court and a skate park, and for resting 262 benches and 37 picnic tables.

What is at Çam ve Sakura Millet Bahçesi?

Çam ve Sakura Millet Bahçesi has 18 play structures, a zipline, trampolines, a skate park and a children's library. The first phase of the park in the Başakşehir neighborhood, the part that is open, covers 80,000 square meters and has a parking lot for 88 cars. Named after the nearby city hospital, Çam ve Sakura Millet Bahçesi is open 24 hours.

Where is Şamlar Nature Park?

Şamlar Nature Park is on the route that passes through the Kayabaşı neighborhood and Şamlar village and connects the Old Edirne Road to Arnavutköy. The park is a corner of nature with wide flat areas under stone pines, walking paths and wild animals such as foxes and hawks. It has 6 entrance gates. The picnic area has toilets, washbasins, a small mosque, a children's playground and wooden picnic tables with seats. You reach the park by the asphalt road that turns left at the Nokta locality as you approach Arnavutköy on the Gaziosmanpaşa road.

Are there historic sites in Başakşehir?

Yes, the historic sites of Başakşehir include the Azatlı gunpowder works, Şamlar Dam, Resneli Çiftliği and Yarımburgaz Cave. Başakşehir became a district in 2008, separated from Küçükçekmece, Esenler and Büyükçekmece, but the area's history is much older. The oldest known name of the area that includes Şahintepe, Kayabaşı, Şamlar, Güvercintepe and Altınşehir is Azatlık. Resneli Çiftliği and Şamlar Dam are the historic structures in the district that have survived with the least damage.

What is the Azatlı gunpowder works?

The Azatlı gunpowder works is the gunpowder factory founded at the end of the 18th century to meet the Ottoman state's need for gunpowder. It lies north of Küçükçekmece, 4 kilometers from the lake. Sultan Selim III had it founded and paid for the construction from his own privy purse. The site was chosen because the flow of the nearby stream was enough to turn the wheels of the works.

Construction was started in 1794 by the superintendent of the gunpowder works, Mehmet Şerif Efendi. The works was completed at the beginning of 1796 and began producing gunpowder, and in 1800 the master builder Arakel repaired the building.

In 1828-1829, one of the gunpowder mortars exploded. About 40 tons of gunpowder were lost in the explosion, and 400 people were killed or injured. In 1835 the equipment of the Thessaloniki gunpowder works, which had been closed, was also moved here. The works ran until the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 and was destroyed by the Russians in the war.

The works is one of the important buildings of Istanbul's modern industrial archaeology. Today, the ruins of a large pool and a hangar-like building stand on the site in the Şahintepe neighborhood. On the slope overlooking the works lies the ruin of Resneli Çiftliği.

Recent research has shown that the masonry buildings known until recently as Resneli Çiftliği were a palace belonging to the sultan, a Kasr-ı Hümayun. The farm's former name was Kotraniye (Tatarcık) Çiftliği, and it was sold to the Resneli family at the beginning of the 20th century.

What is Şamlar Dam?

Şamlar Dam is the stone dam built between two hills north of Şamlar village to bring water to the Azatlı gunpowder works. When Sultan Mahmud II found the stream water reaching the works insufficient, he had this dam built on the stream passing by Şamlar village. The dam is about 150 meters long, 12 meters wide and 10 meters deep. The water collected behind the dam was carried to the works, kilometers away.

Where is Yarımburgaz Cave?

Yarımburgaz Cave is in Başakşehir, about 1 kilometer north of Altınşehir. You reach the cave by the Halkalı-Altınşehir road, and Lake Küçükçekmece stretches to the south of the cave. Because there is more than one cave, it is also called the Yarımburgaz Caves, and its popular name is Altınşehir Cave.

The cave and the remains around it date from the Paleolithic period, and it is one of the places with the oldest traces of humans in Istanbul. The first excavations were carried out in 1963 at the entrance of the lower cave. The caves were declared a 1st-degree archaeological and natural protected site in 2001.

Which stadiums are in Başakşehir?

Başakşehir has two large stadiums: Atatürk Olympic Stadium and Fatih Terim Stadium. Atatürk Olympic Stadium is the largest project of the 584-hectare Olympic Park in the İkitelli area. Construction began in 1999, the stadium was completed in 2002, and it has parking for 18,900 cars. According to the municipality's description, the stadium is on the list of 5-star stadiums of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).

There are two figures for the capacity of Atatürk Olympic Stadium. The Turkish Football Federation (TFF), which keeps the official match records, gives 77,563 spectators, while the municipality's description says 82,576.

Fatih Terim Stadium holds 17,067 people (TFF), while its home club, İstanbul Başakşehir Football Club, gives the capacity as 17,319. You reach Fatih Terim Stadium in the Başak neighborhood by bus lines starting with 78 after the metro.

Where can you go with children in Başakşehir?

With children in Başakşehir, you can go to the nation's gardens with play structures, an adventure park and a traffic education track. The children's areas in the parks are as follows.

Park	For children
Çam ve Sakura Millet Bahçesi	18 play structures, playgrounds with towers, zipline, trampolines, a playground with musical instruments, children's library, baby care room
Bahçeşehir Gölet	8 play structures, swings, slides, climbing areas, traffic education track
Sular Vadisi	7 themed play structures with ship, airplane and animal figures, skate park
Başakşehir Millet Bahçesi	Adventure park, wooden play structure with towers, merry-go-round platform, swings, slides, baby care room
Şamlar Nature Park	Children's playground, picnic tables

The virtual reality (VR) center Başakşehir VR Tema Park, in the municipality complex in Kayabaşı next to the Başakşehir Millet Kıraathanesi, is for children aged 8 and over. Opened on February 13, 2026, the 850-square-meter center has 19 simulation devices, and a large share of the games are about space and astronomy. The center charges an entry fee and, outside Ramadan, is open from 10:00 to 22:00.

Where can you have a picnic in Başakşehir?

For a picnic in Başakşehir, Sular Vadisi, Şamlar Nature Park and Başakşehir Millet Bahçesi, which have picnic tables, are the best choices. Sular Vadisi has 37 picnic tables, 12 pergolas and 3 gazebos. The picnic area of Şamlar Nature Park has wooden picnic tables with seats, toilets, washbasins and a small mosque. Başakşehir Millet Bahçesi also has picnic tables, but no barbecue area.

For barbecues, it depends on the park. Şamlar Nature Park has barbecue areas, but in May 2026, lighting barbecues, samovars and fires was banned until further notice because of the fire risk. Bahçeşehir Gölet has neither picnic tables nor a barbecue area. Anyone planning a barbecue picnic should check the municipality's latest announcement before going.

What are the places to visit near Başakşehir?

Places to visit near Başakşehir include the aqueduct remains in neighboring Sultangazi and Lake Küçükçekmece to the south of the district. To the north of Başakşehir is Arnavutköy, to the northeast Eyüpsultan, and to the east Sultangazi and Esenler. To the south are Bağcılar, Küçükçekmece and Avcılar, and to the southwest Esenyurt.

In Sultangazi, 6-7 arches of the water line that carried Istanbul's water before the conquest can still be seen today. The Kırkçeşme water line also runs from here, from Cebeciköy to the Bozdoğan Aqueduct, and is a water line of 25 kilometers.

The Sazlıdere and Filyos farms, which were once within today's district borders, now lie under the waters of Sazlıdere Dam. The road to Şamlar Nature Park also leads to Arnavutköy.

Where can you eat after sightseeing in Başakşehir?

After sightseeing in Başakşehir, you can eat at the food and drink hubs around the parks or beneath Fatih Terim Stadium. Başakşehir's restaurants are gathered in five hubs. The nation's garden in Kayabaşı and the area around Bahçeşehir Gölet are two of them.

Beneath Fatih Terim Stadium, at Block C No: 5, Lezzet-i Şark Gusto serves Gaziantep cuisine. The 78F line of İETT, Istanbul's public bus operator, connects the stops of Başakşehir Millet Bahçesi and the stadium. Our menu has beyran from the pot, ali nazik from the grill, thin-crust lahmacun from the oven and katmer from the tray. Our restaurant has free parking, valet, a private dining room and reservations. We are open every day until midnight, and until 01:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.